For other uses, see George. |
- "Railways are no good! Turn them into roads! Pull 'em up! Turn them into roads!"
- ― George's catchphrase
George is a grumpy green steamroller whose interactions with engines generally lead to trouble.
Biography
George took an instant disliking to the little engines, Sir Handel in particular, which resulted in a rivalry and an accident.[2]
Once, on Lady Hatt's birthday, the Fat Controller was running late. His car had ended up with a flat tyre after he drove over a pothole and when he was offered a ride by Caroline, she was going too fast and overheated. George pulled up alongside them and called Caroline "a disgrace to the road." George's driver, who was fairly even-tempered, offered the Fat Controller a ride, but George lost control and veered into a pool of mud.[3]
George later worked at Boulder Quarry with Rheneas and Skarloey and made rude remarks despite their assertion that their stone would be used to pave his roads. He was still rude while Percy transported him on a flatbed to his new work site.
George later created a road on an old railway line, but was intentionally careless when he paved the road over a level crossing. This later caused Thomas to derail and crash. Finally, George refused to allow Duck to pass him at the yard. As a result, a truck from his train was still on the Main Line. When the express came through, Gordon collided with the truck, smashing it. The Fat Controller was furious with these recent disturbances and punished George by taking him off the roads for a week to be used as machinery at the lumber mill.[4]
Since this incident, George has had little to no actual contact with the engines. On one occasion, Thomas retrieved George to repair the runway of the new airport at the last minute.[5] In the ninth and tenth series, George was seen working at McColl Farm.
Personality
George is a grumpy, ill-tempered and mean steamroller who dislikes all of the engines, even the ones who try to be nice to him. He is no friend of the railway, often heard rebelling that "railways are no good" and that they should be pulled up and turned into roads. George is happiest when he is rolling but enjoys causing bother for the engines across the island too. He is also grouchy, disagreeable and his unpleasant and unfriendly attitude towards the engines and stubborn nature are often the cause of chaos and disruption, an example being when he crashed into Sir Handel's train for calling him a "great clumsy roadhog". George also does not necessarily get along with every road vehicle, as he insulted Caroline after she broke down.
Unlike Bulgy or the Horrid Lorries, who simply attempt to take over the engines' jobs, George often takes more direct approaches, often by physically damaging the rails or blocking an engine's path if he feels he can intimidate them. However, much like Bulgy and the Lorries, George's actions only end badly for him in the long run. His punishment from his recklessness and bad attitude that he exhibited towards Thomas, Duck and Gordon readily changed him for the better.
It was likely that George was given a second chance and was very important in helping the steam engines and diesel engines in repairing the runway at the Sodor Airport, so that the first aeroplane could land. This shows that even George has a good side in him.
Technical Details
Basis
George is based on an Aveling-Barford R class steamroller.
Although the concept of George was inspired an Aveling and Porter R10 class steamroller built in 1903 named Thistledown that was owned by the Rev. W. Awdry's friend, the Rev. Teddy Boston. He also owned the traction engine that was the inspiration for Trevor.
Livery
George is painted green with red lining, gold boiler bands, and black smokebox and funnel with a brass cowl. His front-forks are painted bright red and his name is painted on the sides of his boiler in white.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
Specials
Music Videos
Learning Segments
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Official Description
From Official Website:[1]
“ | George the Steamroller: George is a grumpy fellow - and no friend of railway engines. "Railways are no good. Pull 'em up. Turn 'em into roads" is his opinion. And he spends his time doing just that.
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” |
“ | George: George is a grumpy steamroller and no friend to the railway engines. "Railways are no good! Pull them up and turn them into roads!" is George's opinion. And he spends his time doing just that.
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” |
Audio Files
Theme
First used | Last used | Composers | Theme Song |
---|---|---|---|
Series 4 | Series 5 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
Whistles
Only used | Sound Effect |
---|---|
Series 4 |
In the fifth series episode Lady Hatt's Birthday Party only, George uses the same whistle sound as Trevor.
Only used | Sound Effect |
---|---|
Lady Hatt's Birthday Party |
In the interactive game Sir Topham Hatt's Helping Hand in a wrong answer, George has Donald's original whistle, but at twelve steps higher-pitched, and also Duck's whistle, but eleven steps higher-pitched.
Only used | Sound Effect |
---|---|
Sir Topham Hatt's Helping Hand (wrong answer only) |
Trivia
- George Carlin gave George a Brooklyn accent similar to the comedian Rodney Dangerfield.
- George was meant to appear in Thomas and the Magic Railroad as one of Diesel 10's lackeys, but his model was never brought to Canada for filming and as a result, his role never passed the storyboard stage and original script. George was supposed to have been used to destroy the buffers on Sodor to find the ones that led to the Magic Railroad and in return, he could destroy the Tidmouth Sheds turntable and make it into a roller rink. However, George later switched sides and stopped Splatter and Dodge.
- In the French narration of the fourth and fifth series, George's name was Georges.
- in the Finnish dub, George is called "Jore". He was named after the Finnish punk singer "Jore".
- George has occasionally been seen driven by Jem Cole, who is referred to as his driver in the fifth series episode, "Lady Hatt's Birthday Party".
- George's television series model is currently on display at Drayton Manor Theme Park and first wore his angry face. He was soon given his current happy face, only to be switched back to his angry one when it moved.
- George was the first character to call Thomas a "blue puffball." The second character being Diesel 10.
- George's original whistle is James' from the fourth series, but 12 steps higher-pitched. It is also Duck's, but 19 steps higher-pitched and Trevor's original, but four steps lower-pitched.
- It was reused for Ben in the Kid’s station game. Bill also had it in the game, but at two steps higher in pitch.
- George is one of the two characters who hate railways, along with Bulgy.
- George's Ertl toy depicts him with his name printed on his smokebox like in the Railway Series. However, the rest of his merchandise features his nameplate in the middle of his boiler like in the television series.
- In some merchandise lines, George incorrectly has a green/white/yellow roof.
- According to Michael White, he had originally written for George to return in the Series 23 episode, Free the Roads. However, his role was later replaced by Max and Monty. This would have marked his first appearance in the CGI series.
- George was one of the characters that was originally going to return in the CGI series but was dropped. The others being Billy, Dennis, Splatter, Dodge, Freddie, Colin and Derek.
- George was mentioned in Thomas' Track Trivia DVD game on Thomas in Charge! DVD.
- In a Ravensburger puzzle called "Roadside Repair", George is seen working with Jack and Isobella at the Sodor Construction Company, even though Buster is The Pack's only steamroller.
- George is the first steam character whose face is not on the smokebox door, rather the support plate for the front roller. Buster is also designed the same way.
- A Wooden Railway prototype concept for George was created by Roy Wilson in May of 1995, but never went into production or was sold until 2002.
- George is one of the few Railway Series characters whose designs were completely changed upon being adapted for the television series, the others being the Skarloey Railway engines, Annie and Clarabel, Daisy, BoCo, and the Spiteful Brake Van.
Merchandise
- ERTL (discontinued)
- Wooden Railway (2010 reintroduction; discontinued)
- Take Along (discontinued)
- My First Thomas (discontinued)
- My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
- De Agostini (discontinued)
- Trading Cards (discontinued)
- Capsule Plarail (discontinued)
- Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
- Nakayoshi (discontinued)
References
- ↑ T&F S5 #4 "Lady Hatt's Birthday Party"
- ↑ T&F S4 #12 "Steam Roller"
- ↑ T&F S5 #4 "Lady Hatt's Birthday Party"
- ↑ T&F S5 #7 "Bye George!"
- ↑ T&F "Calling All Engines!"